principles of respectable self-promotion

I generally limit my writing about leadership to 128 character declarations (the length of a tweet minus the “#leadership” tag). Anything longer feels too verbose for the subject. However, I’ve been asked twice in the last week for advice on self-promotion, and need a bit more space to wrestle the ideas into prose:

Promote those around you

It is impossible to sustainably promote yourself without promoting the success of those around you. Therefore, promote your team and worksite shamelessly, but never at the expense of other teams or worksites. While engaged in this process, promotion of self just happens.

Cast your pearls liberally

Cast your pearls (i.e. your commitment and labor) liberally to team-oriented, caring, and forward-thinking coworkers and customers, no matter what their rank or skill level. However, for jerks and those who never express gratitude, do only the necessary and sufficient bare-minimum (i.e., limit the effort cast to swine). Save your energy for uplifting those who would also uplift you.

The Fundamental Recipe

The Golden Rule is the single best recipe for self-promotion in existence. It is neither altruistic nor egotistical; instead, it provides a framework for creating mutually successful outcomes. Under the Golden Rule, self-promotion and team/site promotion prove inseparable.